Is there a time bomb in the library?<\/p>\n
Rosa Widyawan
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Transferring printed material into digital form has become a
\nmain activity in large libraries here lately. The library of the
\nIndonesia National Armed Forces History Center (Perpustakaan
\nPusat Sejarah TNI), Parahiyangan University, and the Center for
\nScientific Documentation and Information -- Indonesian Institute
\nof Sciences), all have been transferring their collections,
\nincluding books, dissertations and patent documents, into digital
\nform using digital photocopiers or scanners.<\/p>\n
It is not clear how many gigabytes of these digital documents
\nare stored in the library servers. They store digital collections
\nincluding electronic journals, books and images, some of which
\nare unprintable because of the complexity of the multimedia
\napplications involved. Moreover, these libraries also have
\ncatalog and index databases, and other information retrieval
\ndevices.<\/p>\n
This does not mean that everything in the garden is rosy as a
\ndigital document is susceptible to corruption so that it cannot
\nbe read or accessed. The mass storage of digital documents in
\nlibraries may represent a time bomb that threatens the long-term
\nviability of RI digital libraries. It is because the technology
\nof mass storage is developing fast, while the technology and
\nmethods for preserving the digital documents is being left
\nbehind. The ability to create, a mass and storage digital
\nmaterial far exceeds current capacity to preserve small amount
\nwith continuing value.<\/p>\n
A digital document is similar to a paper-based document, which
\ncan deteriorate on account of internal aspects, such as the
\nphysical substance of the document, as well as external reasons,
\nsuch as insect attack, light, temperature, etc. Librarians have
\nlong been combating the deterioration of paper-based documents,
\nand various types of film and other fragile items. Now they are
\nfacing magnetic and optical media that have different
\ncharacteristics. These optical and magnetic media are reusable
\nand deteriorate rapidly in the space of years, not decades.<\/p>\n
It is important to pay close attention to the media used,
\nalthough the technology is consistently improving. Magnetic media
\ncan now be used for between 10 and 30 years if stored and handled
\nproperly. There is also optical discs being developed that should
\nlast for 100 years, but these are still at the laboratory stage,
\nand have not been tested in tropical climates where temperature,
\nlight and humidity levels could play havoc with the discs.<\/p>\n
The second problem is development of hardware followed by new
\nversion software. Unfortunately the old versions cannot read
\ninformation written in new version format. The Indonesia digital
\nworld seems to be standing still. There has been no reaction to
\nthis potential threat and digitizing continues apace without any
\nsigns of concern.<\/p>\n
Digital information managers in the United Stated realize that
\ndigital preservation is like time bomb. So, they conduct routine
\nmaintenance for byte flow over the long run and accessibility to
\nintellectual content in line with the developments taking place
\nin information technology. In November 2000, the Library of
\nCongress (LoC) took action to archive a web site related to
\nClinton that turned out to be easy to be hacked into.<\/p>\n
Recently the LoC has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to
\npreserve government digital documents.<\/p>\n
It is true that digital preservation is a big problem in this
\narchipelago due to financial limitations. Nevertheless, some
\ndigital preservation steps can be taken and relatively little
\ncost.<\/p>\n
First, using appropriate hardware according to standard
\nspecifications, followed by standard operating procedures and
\nroutine housekeeping. In other words, ensure that the hardware
\nand software are capable of operating and providing data. If a
\nnew version is developed, we must undertake migration, or
\nreformat the data. Carrying out migration without a priority
\ndrive is an expensive process as it is time consuming.<\/p>\n
Another alternative is to develop hardware or software that
\ncan imitate the functions of the new hardware and software in
\nrunning the program, such as a Mackintosh running Windows. This
\nis called emulation and requires data to be stored in original
\nformat, software to be stored with full documentation, and
\nhardware to be built to emulate the original machines.<\/p>\n
Probably it is a little premature to start worrying about
\ndigital preservation in Indonesia. So, let us hope that the time
\nbomb scenario is merely a product of overanxiety.<\/p>\n
The writer is a librarian at PDII-LIPI. She can be reached at
\nrosa@pdii.lipi.go.id.<\/p>",
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